Dubai

We headed by taxi at 10am to KL Sental to catch the bus to the airport which takes an hour, once at the airport we realised that we were at the wrong terminal. So another ride on the metro to our terminal and finally we were on the plane to Colombo for a 2.30min stop over. Our flight lands at Dubai 21.40 and we are faced with a massive queue at immigration but finally we have our bags and are heading for the metro for a half hour ride to where our accommodation is. Finally we arrive, very tired and hot but it was all worth it as our apartment is fantastic, just what the doctor ordered.

We walked across to the Mall of the Emirates where there is a supermarket and we did some shopping. Back home we had a nice breakfast with lots of tea while we planned our stay here.

As the metro is the other side of the mall we walked back through to get to the metro as we were heading for the marina area. This area wasn't really built up when we were here last and now it's like one big building site with million dollar boats moored up. The beach area was really busy but at £20 for a sun bed and £40 for a day bed on the beach we decided not to stay. After a sit down and a expensive cold drink we carried on with our walk before we headed back to the metro. 

The shops trend to open late here as they stay open until 11pm so we did some retail therapy but only brought a ice cream, I think it's very expensive here.

Had an early morning swim which was lovely as it wasn't so hot but the pool water is far too warm.

After breakfast we headed for the marina again as wanted to try a place called Pier 7 as they are famous for their monster shakes. Trust me they were overpriced and not very nice but the setting was nice overlooking the marina. We brought a pizza and garlic bread for dinner as I still haven't got rid of this cold and not enjoying eating out.

So the big day for going to the top of the Burj Khalifa has arrived and we hopped on the shuttle bus down to the Dubai Mall. It wasn't that busy so with our tickets we headed for the lift and the extremely fast lift to the 124th floor. What an amazing view of Dubai from here, from here you can see so much past the skyscrapers and into the desert. You can pay more and go to the 148th floor but this was very expensive and the views would be the same. Once back on solid ground we stopped and read the history of the worlds tallest building.

Once outside we watched a huge fountain display to music only wish we had time to see it at night.

The Dubai Mall is also the largest in the world and a much nicer mall than the Mall of the Emirates.

Still haven't brought anything here apart from coffee and cake. Our shuttle bus is due to pick us up at 17.10 so we head to the car park and wait for our driver to arrive.

We wanted to visit the area we stayed at 10 years ago when we came to Dubai to visit friends, so we took the hotel shuttle bus to Jumeira beach area. The area hasn't changed much but today was really busy due to it being the weekend. The Burj Arab hotel is also in this area and it's nice to see that no other hotels have built around this iconic landmark. We had to get a taxi back due to the transport links are not good but as it's a meter taxi you don't feel as your being ripped off.

The afternoon we just chilled by the pool and caught up with some admin. We booked our train tickets back to Chichester which felt a bit weird.

Down at the marina they had a Hallowe'en market on in the evening, we then went and ate as we wanted to watch the cliff diving at Pier 7

The Redbull cliff diving final was being held in Dubai for the first time. They had built a platform for the divers on the Pier 7 building. It was a very hot night and with all the crowds there it became very uncomfortable but it was worth it as the diving was very good and the British diver won.

Saturday was our chill day and we spent the morning around the pool and in the afternoon headed for the mall. We had a late lunch in the Cheesecake Factory followed by a large slice of cheesecake. So Sunday morning and we had to checkout at noon so we had a swim and a bit of a sun bath before we showered and checked out. The hotel said they would hold our luggage as we wasn't heading to the airport until late that night. We had booked an afternoon tea at a 5* hotel for 3pm so before heading to the Sofitel Downtown hotel we walk around the mall for a bit as it was next door. Our afternoon tea was ok but certainly not one of the better ones we have had. The hotel was really nice and the staff were very friendly and kept bringing us more nibbles. So 3hrs later we are stuffed and head back to the mall to watch the fountain display with all its lights and music. We got back to the hotel later that night to pick up our bags before we headed for the metro for the train back to the airport. Our flight wasn't until 05.20am so we had a long wait at the airport but that was ok as I had alot of reading and writing to do. The time past quickly and we were sitting on the plane taking us back to the UK and who knows what awaits us back home.